The present invention relates to a plate-shaped peeling member for peeling paper from fixing members such as a fixing roller, a fixing belt, and the like installed in an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copy machine and a laser beam printer and a method and an apparatus for manufacturing the plate-shaped peeling member.
Electrophotographic apparatuses such as a copy machine and a laser beam printer includes a heating/fixing apparatus for developing electrostatic latent images formed on a photosensitive drum on paper with a developer such as toner, and then fixing them. The heating/fixing apparatus has a fixing member such as a fixing roller and a fixing belt for fusing the developer by heating it and pressurizing the developer.
Conventionally, separation pawls for smoothly peeling developer-fixed paper from the roller or the like are disposed on the fixing member and on a pressurizing roller for pressing paper against the fixing member. In recent years, there is a tendency for the plate-shaped peeling member capable of accomplishing a line contact with the roller and the belt to be used instead of the separation pawl.
For example, in the peeling plate disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-235959, through the silicone based adhesive agent, the fluororesin sheet is stuck to the portion of the metal plate which contacts or is proximate to the fixing member such as the fixing roller and the fixing belt. The peeling plate has excellent paper-peeling property, durability against-high temperature, and anti-tacking property to toner.
The plate-shaped peeling member is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-122174. The plate-shaped peeling member has the base member and the fluororesin sheet stuck thereto. To obtain the plate-shaped peeling member in which the generation of wrinkles and bubbles in the fluororesin sheet is suppressed to a possible highest extent, the edge forming the one side of the flat plate-shaped base material and its periphery are sandwiched by the fluororesin sheet in such a way that the fluororesin sheet is rolled on the edge forming the one side of the flat plate-shaped base material and the pulling portion is provided at both ends of the edge forming the one side of the flat plate-shaped base material. Further by pulling both ends of a pulling portion, the portion of the base material sandwiched by the upper and lower portion of the fluororesin sheet is pressurized, with a tensile force being applied to the fluororesin sheet. In the above-described manner, the fluororesin sheet is adhered to the base material.
However, in the plate-shaped peeling member obtained by the above-described method, the fluororesin sheet is adhered to the base material, with a tensile force being applied to the fluororesin sheet. Thus when the adhesive force deteriorates because the plate-shaped peeling member is used for a long time, the fluororesin sheet contracts and toner is attached to an exposed adhesive agent. This results in stains on paper that contacts the peeling member.